Beijing absorbs sponge city ideas

Beijing is collaborating with the US state of Wisconsin to build a "sponge city" by creating an ecological circle, from the removal of water to its sustainable return to nature.

The Chinese capital city's water authority, together with The Water Council nonprofit organization in the United States and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp, hosted a water conference on Wednesday to transfer the US technology, following a similar one in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, two days earlier.

Milwaukee, a city in Wisconsin, accommodates over 200 water technology companies and has become the global center of water technology resources.

"The state of Wisconsin is considerably experienced in dealing with this issue because of the expertise and knowledge all these companies had," said Terry Branstad, US ambassador to China. "And Beijing obviously has a significant strategy to deal with the water issue and the need to have reliable, clean water for the over 21 million residents."

One of the sponge city pilot areas in Beijing is located in the city's subsidiary administrative center Tongzhou district, an area of 19.36 square kilometers. Eight categories of projects - including building and community, road and square, park and greenbelt, and water system renovation are on schedule.